Palm’s big announcement may be set for Jan. 8, but the device maker isn’t waiting until then to lift the covers off other developments it has been working on. While its new operating system is what people are waiting to see, the company is launching an on-device application store, like Apple’s App store, Google’s Android Market, and the upcoming BlackBerry Application Center. Palm (NSDQ: PALM) has a long history of working with developers, so this is less of a leap for the company than it might be for some others. Applications will be available to Palm users on the phone.